We must defend personal continuity in primary care

doi:10.1136/bmj.b3923

Published 6 October 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3923
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b3923

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We must defend personal continuity in primary care

Helen Richards, GP principal and partner, Inverness

Helen.cowan3@btinternet.com

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The first challenge when defending continuity of care is todefine it adequately. Theorists have suggested three types ofcontinuity: informational continuity, which includes both formallyrecorded information and information residing in the memoriesof clinicians; management continuity, the application of carepathways and coordination of care; and relationship continuity,the clinician’s accumulated knowledge of each patient’scircumstances and preferences.

To me—and I suspect to most GPs—personal continuityincludes elements of all three but also goes further. Personalcontinuity means taking responsibility for the care of registeredpatients over an extended period of time; being the first pointof contact in most episodes of illness; understanding the patient’shealth in the context of their family, social networks, andwider community; and coordinating care in an increasingly complexhealthcare system.

Personal continuity is valued by patients, especially thosewith multiple morbidities, convoluted health narratives, andcomplex social circumstances and by those . . . [Full text of this article]

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